As the weather improves, many people find themselves wanting to spend more time outdoors. Fire pits and outdoor fireplaces offer an excellent way to extend the amount of time that can be comfortably spent outdoors with family and friends.
When planning for your outdoor fireplace or fire pit, comfort and ease of access seem to top the list-but the safety of your family, home or business, and guests should be the top priority. By following a few simple suggestions, you can avoid having your latest home or business improvement project become a nightmare.
Here are a few things to consider when protecting your home and family from a fire:
Proximity to combustible materials. It is recommended that you keep any combustible materials a minimum of 10 feet away from your fireplace.
The type of fuel. Wood, gas, or charcoal are the most popular and safest fuels to use in a fire pit or outdoor fireplace. Don’t use chemicals or combustibles, like lighter fluid or gasoline, to get the flames going.
Placement. Never place your fireplace on a wooden deck as hot embers can quickly ruin an evening.
Supervisionand prevention. Always supervise children and pets when a fire pit or outdoor fireplace is in use. Children easily fall and pets sometimes miscalculate their jumps. Many fire pits and fireplaces come with metal grates or curtains that can be placed on top of them–use them.
Proper disposal. Never dispose of hot ashes in a plastic waste receptacle. Instead, wait until the ashes have cooled and place them in a trash can made out of metal
Be ready. Make sure to have a garden hose, bucket of water, and/or a fire extinguisher close by when using your fireplace or fire pit.
Don’t break the law. Before installing a fire pit or outdoor fireplace, check with your local fire department see if these items are legal to use in your area. Some cities allow outdoor fireplaces only for ascetic purposes, but not for use as a heat source.
As the cold weather continues across the U.S., emergency workers are responding to a growing number of deaths. The reason behind the fatalities is due to inappropriate means of trying to stay warm.
WWL-FM105.3 of Louisiana reports that recent fires unnecessarily took the lives of a handful of people. The report states Fire Marshal Butch Browning shared: “…deadly fires not only occur because of using inappropriate heating sources, but using proper heating sources like space heaters in an improper way.”
Browining also recommends only using a space heater when awake. Also, make sure smoke detectors in the home work. If not, Browing states, “your family has less than a 40% chance of waking up in a fire.”
A historic home on Guyler Street in Ringgold, Tenn. caught fire earlier this week. Catoosa fire fighters quickly jumped into action and saved the home from being completely destroyed. Experts guess the fire started in the attic or on the roof, which were being renovated.
The emergency workers stated there were a lot of obstacles they had to face while trying to save the 10,000-square-foot home: wood that’s dry and old, outside wind, and carrying firefighting equipment up a flight of stairs. The attic of the home was destroyed by the flames while the first and second floors experienced water damage.
Four businesses in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle are recovering from damage caused by fire and smoke on the 23rd of the month. These businesses include Green Bean Coffee House, Szechuan Bistro, C.C. Teriyaki and Pho Tic Tac. Nearby businesses suffered extensive damage from the nearby smoke and water from the rescue effort. Firefighters also took extra precautions and evacuated a nearby apartment complex.
The Green Bean Coffee House is a business that many are mourning. It is a nonprofit business owned by the Sanctuary Church, which holds services in the nearby Taproot Theater. The Green Bean was described to be inviting, comfortable and welcoming-so comfy that customers would often fall asleep in one of the big easy chairs provided. The church had to relocate its Sunday service due to the extensive water damage it suffered and damages intentionally caused to the building to keep the fire from spreading. However, fire crews tried to protect as much as they could in the offices of the Taproot by placing tarps over desks and electronic equipment. The Taproot, which also services as a community theater house, will hold some if its future performances at the Seattle Children’s Theater.
Homeowners in southern California have to deal with the restoration of their homes and property after wildfires had no mercy this summer. As a result, many homeowners were left uninsured as their insurance companies cancelled homeowners policies, deeming the home was in an area considered to too high of a risk.
Risky Business
Homes in the area of this summer’s Station fire now have to face the possibility of mudslides within the next 12 months. The fires burned the hills surrounding homes to the point that the ground is now unreliably unstable. If the summer fires did not wipe a home out, insurance carriers fear a mudslide will-causing insurance companies to suffer more substantial losses.
Residents in Southland have tried to buy mudslide insurance policies from several different agencies without any luck. Insurance companies are still licking their wounds from having to pay out claims from this fire season and cannot afford to pay for more losses.
Since mudslide riders for a homeowners policy are not popularly available, people are starting to get creative and are purchasing earthquake, flood, and wildfire riders to add on to their home’s insurance. They are keeping their fingers crossed, hoping they have enough of the appropriate coverage if the unthinkable happens.
